Consumer Price Index- May 2018

June 18 ,2018

The consumer price index for the month of May 2018 recorded a negligible movement, following the downward movement of 0.4% in April 2018, according to The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN). The Consumer Price Index for the month amounted to 247.0, similar to that reported for April 2018. This movement was attributed to the 0.2% downward movement in the index for the division ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ which was counterbalanced by the 0.2% upward movement in the index for the ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ division. Inflation within the Greater Kingston Metropolitan Area and Other Urban Centres declined 0.1% while Rural Areas increased by 0.1%.

The index for the ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ division recorded a 0.2% decline in its index for May 2018, following a negligible movement for April 2018. This resulted from the movements within the ‘Food’ and ‘Non Alcoholic Beverages’ group. Within the ‘Food’ group, the class ‘Vegetables and Starchy Foods’ fell 1.4%. According to STATIN, this was as a result of the “continued falling prices for items such as carrot, cabbage, lettuce and tomato due to good supply conditions.” Within the ‘Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ group the class ‘Mineral Waters, Soft Drinks, Fruit and Vegetable Juices’ recorded an increase of 0.2% while the ‘Coffee, Tea, and Cocoa’ class increased by 0.1%.

‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ division recorded an increase of 0.2% in its index for May 2018. This was a result of the group ‘Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ increasing 1.4% following a decline of 4.3% in the month of April 2018. According to STATIN, this movement was “resulted from higher electricity rates”. This was however offset by decreases in the water and sewage rates which resulted in the group ‘Water Supply and Miscellaneous Services Related to the Dwelling’ recording a 4.1 % rise in its index.

The index for the divisions ‘Clothing and Footwear’ and ‘Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance’ also recorded increases of 0.2% for May 2018. The increase in the index ‘Clothing and Footwear’ was mainly due to the 0.3% increase in the group ‘Footwear’ and a 0.1% increase in the group ‘Clothing’. The movement in the index ‘Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household’ was as a result of a 0.3% increase the group ‘Glassware, Tableware and Household Utensils.

The division ‘Health’ and ‘Recreation and Culture’ each grew by 0.4% and 0.5% respectively for May 2018. This movement in the index ‘Health’ was as a result of the 0.6% increase in the group ‘Health Services’ while the movement in the index ‘Recreation and Culture’ was mainly attributable to the “rise in cost for newspapers and cable television services”.

The division ‘Miscellaneous Goods and Services’ also climbed by 0.1% in its index for May 2018. According to STATIN, the former was as a result of an “upward movement in the prices for personal care items”. The division ‘Transport’ however recorded a negligible movement in its index. According to STATIN, this negligible movement was attributable to the upward movement in the “prices for petrol and its related products” which were offset by the “decline in the costs of air travel for May 2018.” Notably, the other divisions ‘Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco’, ‘Communication’, ‘Education’ and ‘Restaurants and Accommodation Services’ also recorded a negligible movement for May 2018.

The Inflation rate year to date is -0.7%, while the point-to-point rate (May 2017 – May 2018) and fiscal year 2018/ 2019 was 3.1% and -0.4% respectively. Individual divisions saw the following changes:

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